Who Tests the Frum community for genetic diseases?

There are a number of for profit and non-profit organizations/companies which are able to test if one is a carrier for a specific disease. This testing is essential to ensure that children are not born with any of the many scary diseases, found in the Jewish community. Below, we have put all of the pertinent information of the largest and most trusted institutions offering these tests.

JSCREEN

JScreen is a non-profit community-based public health initiative dedicated to preventing Jewish genetic diseases. Headquartered in Atlanta at Emory University School of Medicine, the JScreen initiative is a collaboration among clinical geneticists, socially minded businesses and nonprofits to provide everyday people with a ready access point to cutting-edge genetic testing technology, patient education and genetic counseling services.

JScreen makes testing for Jewish genetic diseases simple — providing an easy-to-use at-home saliva test that gives couples planning for children an unprecedented understanding of their own genetic makeup and risks relating to their children’s health. If a person or couple’s risk is elevated, genetic counselors from Emory University School of Medicine will privately address their results, options and resources to help you have a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby.

DOR YESHORIM

Dor Yeshorim (Hebrew: דור ישרים‎ - "upright generation"), also called Committee for Prevention of Jewish Genetic Diseases, is an organization that offers genetic screening to members of the worldwide Jewish community. Its objective is to minimize, and eventually eliminate, the incidence of genetic disorders common to Jewish people, such as Tay–Sachs disease.Dor Yeshorim's goal is to make premarital genetic testing easily accessible to all. Dor Yeshorim conducts mass screening drives at high schools, yeshivos and colleges throughout the world. Blood samples are retrieved and each participant receives an identification number

Dor Yeshorim advocates anonymous testing. Individuals are tested during large sessions in Jewish schools and processed anonymously with only a PIN linking the sample with the candidate.